Well we are now nearly a month down the track with this blog review series and I have to say I am liking this Nokia Lumia 920 more and more. I am still very much enjoying Windows Phone 8, the phone is behaving impeccably, battery life is outstanding - currently showing 31% battery left, time since last charge one day eight hours and under similar usage this far exceeds any of my previous smart devices.

Firstly I want to thank Telecom New Zealand for allowing me to part of this experience. Just when I think it couldn't get any better than being given a flagship handset for a brand new OS to trial, they come to the party with a Nokia DT-900 wireless charging plate.

Most will recall the pre-release hearsay gossip that the Apple iPhone 4S would have wireless charging, then along came the Samsung Galaxy S3 with a firm promise of a wireless charging option in the future, next was the Nexus 4 which while being QI wireless charging capable requires an optional third party charger, so to the best of my knowledge the Nokia is the first manufacturer (at least in the local market) to offer a handset capable of wireless charging as well as being able to supply a matching QI compatible wireless charger.

To be honest plugging a cord into a phone once every day or two isn't exactly a trying task so at a glance wireless charging sounded more of a novelty than a necessary technology but how wrong could I be! The action of just putting your phone down on to the charging plate as you would put your phone on the coffee table/kitchen bench/desk is a no brainer, it's not some sci-fi mumbo jumbo, it is a logical solution to an existing problem.

There's not much more to say other than this really is a compulsory buy for Lumia 920 owners plus it has a 6ft long cord which is most convenient. I should add that the charging plate appears as well built as the Lumia 920 with great attention to detail such as the rubber ring embedded in the top surface so that at no stage is there any potential for scratching of either the plate of the phone.

At present the #1 feature for me has to be the camera. Initially i thought its performance to be a bit lack lustre, maybe it was the Nokia marketing machine at play throwing around terms such as "Carl Zeiss Lens", "Pureview" and "Image stabilization", maybe I was expecting something beyond mind blowing. I am familiar with the camera performance of both the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Apple iPhone 4s and let's be honest both are very capable devices so maybe I was expecting too much out of a device that on the face of it is not hugely different.

Ironically the camera only started to strut its stuff for me when I was trying to take a pic of the Lumia 920 for my previous blog with my Galaxy S3. I must have taken some 30 odd pictures under all sorts of conditions to get a half decent close up of the Lumia 920. I then tried taking a picture of the Galaxy S3 using the Lumia 920 and got the pic I was originally after first time around. A few nights later we had the most incredible red sunset so I thought I would try and snap a pic of it. I couldn't believe the resulting picture it actually did the sunset some justice, for the next ten minutes I must have looked like a crazed tourist, no doubt the neighbours thought I was crazy!

The Lumia 920's low light capabilities are pretty darn good. Below is a side by side comparison between the iPhone 4S and the Lumia 920, both set to auto and no flash, no tricks. As you can see in the below photos the difference is huge:

For the average consumer this is probably all the camera they will ever need. In daylight it produces vibrant pictures with an almost HDR depth of colour. The Lumia 920 just seems to get it right even on the automatic settings so great photos are truly just a point and shoot exercise that anyone can achieve every time. I should also add that part of the hardware requirement for Windows Phone 8 is a dedicated shutter button which is a welcome blast from the past. Another noteworthy point is the position of the lens within the phones body, it is nicely away from the edge meaning you are far less likely to accidentally snap a pic with a corner of finger showing!

The menu structure is maybe overly simple and at a glance possibly appears lacking however it integrates seamlessly with "Lens" apps and the feature list soon starts looking a bit more complete, full resolution panoramas (which in practice works very well other than being having to take pictures left to right), or multi shoot with automatic best picture selection.

The best news is there is a looming update for the Lumia 920 which amongst other things addresses a couple of weaknesses with the camera (soft focus and backlight flaring) which means a great thing is only going to get better. Telecom, feel free to drop the Windows Phone Portico update on us sooner rather than later!!

About the author

My name is Wade, I am probably best described as a slightly demanding tech savvy consumer who is fast approaching an age where one needs to start planning one's mid-life crisis. I'm a family man with two extraordinary daughters, as well as a fabulous and understanding (most of the time!) wife, hobbies include home theatre and car audio. work in supply chain within the manufacturing sector. I have a vested interest in simplifying and enriching both my work and personal lives through technology. I live in a household filled with the usual plethora of Apple devices however my weapon of choice has become Android and the Google ecosystem. Windows Phone is a somewhat unchartered territory for me. Having no prior experience with Windows Phone or SkyDrive, I am very much looking forward to immersing myself into this ecosystem and understanding how it stacks up for my needs.

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